Putin Dubs McCain 'Nuts', says US Drones, Commandos KILLED Gaddafi

Vladimir Putin has lashed out at John McCain over his threats that the PM may face same fate as the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The Russian premier speculated that the US senator has been traumatized by his POW experience.Putin presented his version of how Gaddafi was killed, and it allocates a dubious place for NATO in the scenario.

“All the world saw him being killed, all bloodied. Is that democracy? And who did it? Drones, including American ones, delivered a strike on his motorcade. Then commandos, who were not supposed to be there, brought in so-called opposition and militants. And killed him without trial,” Putin explained.

“Mr. McCain is known to have fought in Vietnam. I believe he has enough civilian blood on his hands. Is it that he can’t live without such horrible disgusting scenes as the butchering of Gaddafi?” the Russian prime minister speculated.
“Mr. McCain was taken prisoner in Vietnam and was put, not just in jail, but in a pit! He sat there for several years. Any person would go nuts from that!” he added.
Putin also said hawkish politicians like McCain are targeting, not him personally, but rather Russia, because it has the strength to protect its sovereignty and its international interests rather than submit to world domination pretenses. But there are more those who want to see Russia as a partner, not as an enemy.
“The West is not monolithic, and we have more friends than enemies,” Putin assured. Source

Engineered virus which hacks & controls brain: Do you mind?

Today, an average computer user cannot even keep the machine secured. So what will the world look like when hacking your mind becomes as easy as infecting your machine with a computer virus?

Human knowledge on DNA nanotechnology and bio-molecular computing increases exponentially with every passing year. Thus, protecting your own brain from security breaches could become the highest priority challenge of the 21st century.

Synthetic biology is becoming one of the most powerful forms of technology in the world. But many people fear that scientists’ games with the genetics of life forms could spin out of control and open the door to a new age of bio-hacking and bio-terrorism.

Natural living viruses and bacteria are not only making people sick, they also control the behavior and condition of the hosts, though without any malice. But the consequences of getting exposed to an artificially-created virus could be much more serious than a headache or a fever.

“Synthetic biology will lead to new forms of bioterrorism,” security expert Marc Goodman told the Daily Mail. “Bio-crime today is akin to computer crime in the early ’80s.”

Viruses and bacteria are manipulating the chemicals inside the human body and, by programming them to send the right agents into the brain, the bio-programmer potentially can take control over the victim’s behavior.

We are seeing the opening stages of the synthetic biology industry. Some basic tasks like decoding, insertion and excision of parts of the DNA, and relatively successful attempts of cloning is pretty much everything that modern science can carry through.

But in the ’80s, computer science technology was actually at the same level of maturity. At that time no one could really believe that 20 years later any person would have a greater power over the computer  – and not only the one that belongs to him – than the best present-day programmers.

Cells are living computers and DNA is a programming language that can be used to control and influence life forms, believes Andrew Hessel of Singularity University, on NASA's research campus.  

“Synthetic biology – the writing of life,” Hessel says. “It's growing fast. It will grow faster than computer technologies.”

Programming the DNA, however, is more of a speculation at this point. There is no development environment or any frameworks to manipulate the cell. Just like in computer programming, a set of basic instructions and codes has to be developed before an average coder could perform some task of greater complexity. 

The industry is developing rapidly and the future of DNA programming seems bright. But drawing parallels with computer science, it would be better for humankind to recognize the problem of “malicious bio-programmers” with all possible seriousness and proactively develop defensive and counter-offensive methods. Source

Möbius Strip of Fraud - Max Keiser Report

Re-hypothecating Alec Baldwin's cake and eating it too. And, as Al Capone before him, JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon complains of the thankless task of being a "public benefactor". In the second half of the show, Max talks to Reggie Middleton about German debt and MF Global. Source

US Troops Surround Syria On The Eve Of Invasion

A former official from within the ranks of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is reporting that US and NATO forces have landed outside of Syria and are training militants to overthrow the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
Whistleblower Sibel Edmonds, formerly a translator with the FBI, wrote over the weekend that American soldiers are among the NATO troops that have mysteriously and suddenly landed on the Jordanian and Syrian border. According to her, several sources internationally have confirmed the news, although the US media has been instructed to temporarily censor itself from reporting the news. Source/full story

NOT SO ISOLATED NOW: CZECH REPUBLIC AND HUNGARY DUMP EU TREATY TO JOIN BRITAIN

Britain was joined by both Hungary and the Czech Republic today as they dumped the EU Treaty in a triumphant victory for David Cameron.

The two countries said that would not join the new EU Treaty aimed at tackling the eurozone's debt crisis if it meant giving up their countries independent tax policies. 

Like Britain, neither Hungary nor the Czech Republic use the euro and if they signed the treaty the countries tax and budget policies would be subject to EU approval. 

The Czech and Hungarian prime ministers announced their positions on the tax issue at a press conference held during an official visit by the Czech premier to Budapest. They said they wanted to take active roles in negotiating the new treaty, but need details on how it will affect non-eurozone nations.

"We support the solutions which result in the stabilization of the eurozone," Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas said, citing his country's dependence on exports to Western Europe. "But we are convinced that tax harmonization would not mean anything good for us."

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Central Europe had the potential to become the most competitive region in Europe once the current debt crisis is overcome. "So the only kind of cooperation we can have with the eurozone is one which does not damage Hungary's competitiveness," Orban said. Source/Full story

Euro Situation Much "Worse Than 2008" Says Founder Of $30 Billion Hedge Fund

Link to Bloomberg Interview

Founder Of $30 Billion Hedge Fund BlueCrest Says Most Euro Banks Are Insolvent; Euro Situation Much "Worse Than 2008"

Submitted by Tyler Durden The Founder of one of the world's largest asset managers, the $30 billion hedge fund BlueCrest, Michael Platt, spoke to Bloomberg TV and cut right to the chase, saying most of the banks in Europe are insolvent and the situation in the region is "completely unstable." On how he approaches market risk: ""I do not take any exposure to banks at all if I can avoid it.  All the money at BlueCrest Capital Management is in Two-Year U.S. government debt, Two-Year German debt, we have segregated accounts with all of our counterparties.  We are absolutely concerned about the credit quality of the counterparties." On investing in illiquid assets, Platt said he "would not touch them with a barge pole" and that "the major opportunities will come post-blowout." Something tells us Russia and China know this all too well, and realize that the best time to "invest" in Europe is after the single (or multiple) bankruptcy. Which incidentally, as Kyle Bass said yesterday, after the "blowout" is when the ECB will finally step in as well, at which point the entire world will go all in on that now infamous 2-7 offsuit. And his view on how that bluff will end: 'In my opinion, what's going on now is significantly worse than 2008." Source/full story

LSX Occupy Everywhere – LIVE

ABMC 2011 Keynote Address - Michael Hudson

French ex-President Jacques Chirac guilty of corruption

A French court has given former President Jacques Chirac a two-year suspended prison sentence for diverting public funds and abusing public trust.

Mr Chirac, 79, was not in court to hear the verdict because of ill-health but denied wrongdoing. President from 1995 to 2007, he was put on trial on charges that dated back to his time as mayor of Paris. Accused of paying members of his Rally for the Republic (RPR) party for municipal jobs that did not exist.

The prosecution had urged the judge to acquit Mr Chirac and nine others accused in the trial. Two of the nine were cleared. The other seven were found guilty. In 2004, during his presidency, several figures including France's current Foreign Minister Alain Juppe were convicted in connection with the case Mr Juppe was given a 14-month suspended sentence. Jacques Chirac, mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995, is the first former French head of state to be convicted since Marshal Philippe Petain, the leader of the wartime Vichy regime, was found guilty in 1945 of collaborating with the Nazis. Our correspondent in Paris said the verdict would come as a surprise to the French public because the prosecution said it had not been proven that Mr Chirac had known of individual cases of fake jobs. It will be seen as a stain on his character, our correspondent adds.

'Breach of probity'

The case was divided into two parts: the first count involved embezzlement and breach of trust in relation to 21 bogus jobs; the second related to a charge of illegal conflict of interest concerning seven jobs. He was found guilty of both. The former president, who had legal immunity during his time as head of state, faced a potential 10 years in prison and a fine of 150,000 euros for  the employment of more than 20 bogus officials. Source/full story

Discrimination Swells 'German Society is Poisoned'

Controversial author Thilo Sarrazin, shown here in 

a televised conflict with immigrants earlier this year.

SPIEGEL: Professor Heitmeyer, you have been studying the condition of the Germans for the last 10 years. How are we doing?

Heitmeyer: Not very well. The growing social divide is corroding the sense of community, and society is poisoned. Social disintegration is dangerous, especially for disadvantaged groups. Substantial segments of society believe that they are more valuable than others. Only those who achieve something, who are useful and efficient, count for something.

SPIEGEL: Hasn't that always been the case?

Heitmeyer: Yes, but the principle of rationality, which has its place in the economy, has increasingly permeated our thinking, finding its way into living rooms, schools and social relationships. This application of economic principles to the valuation of human beings is inhumane. Immigrants, the homeless, the long-term unemployed, the disabled, all of these people are worth less than others according to these standards.

SPIEGEL: Is this really worse in Germany than elsewhere?

Heitmeyer: Status-based thinking is also widespread in Germany. This sets off a spiral of devaluation, especially in times of crisis. Someone who is afraid of moving down in the world, or is worried about being rendered useless tomorrow, is more likely to denigrate weaker people, to prove to himself that there is still someone below him on the ladder.

SPIEGEL: In your study, you measure the temperature curve of society with the somewhat cumbersome concept of "group-specific misanthropy." Why so complicated?

Heitmeyer: Racism is certainly easier to grasp, but it isn't just people with foreign roots who are discriminated against in our society. The long-term unemployed, the homeless and the disabled are also devalued. If you belong to one of these disadvantaged groups, your chances of becoming integrated and recognized are very poor.

SPIEGEL: Who are these people with such hostile attitudes?

Heitmeyer: We tend to focus on young people, some of whom are violent and make the headlines. But it's the older people, those 60 and up, who have particularly hostile attitudes. This has consequences.

SPIEGEL: Are grandma and grandpa teaching their grandchildren to hate foreigners?

Heitmeyer: The attitudes of the older generation are indeed transferred to young people in many cases, because older people have a lot of credibility among young people. This has to be carefully analyzed against the background of an aging society. Youth programs don't do any good, either.

SPIEGEL: The special aspect of your study is the long observation period. How have we developed in the last 10 years?

Heitmeyer: It isn't uniform. But society is more divided today than it was 10 years ago. Xenophobia, racism and the denigration of the long-term unemployed are on the rise once again, especially after the crises that began in 2008. Some 92 percent of society believes that the rich are getting richer and the poor even poorer.

SPIEGEL: Germany has just discovered that it is home to active right-wing terrorism. Were these individuals outside of society?

Heitmeyer: I'm appalled that many, especially in the political establishment, act as if we were dealing with a few outsiders in an otherwise intact and humane society. But it isn't quite that easy to distinguish between good and evil. The terrorists (Uwe) Böhnhardt, (Uwe) Mundlos and (Beate) Zschäpe derived their justification for committing acts of violence from a reservoir of misanthropic attitudes in society.

SPIEGEL: A reservoir? Can misanthropy be accumulated?

Heitmeyer: The acceptance of violence and the willingness to commit violent acts among people with right-wing populist views increased by 16 percent from 2010 to 2011. This is everything but good news for social climate.

SPIEGEL: How many people in Germany sympathize with the right-wing populists?

Heitmeyer: About 10 percent of society has thoroughly right-wing views.

SPIEGEL: How did you determine that?

Heitmeyer: We confronted 2,000 people with the following statements: "To preserve law and order, we have to crack down on outsiders and troublemakers. I sometimes feel like a stranger in my own country, because of the many Muslims in Germany. Many Jews are trying to use Germany's Nazi past to secure benefits today and make the Germans pay for it." According to our criteria, a person who clearly agrees with six of these types of statements has right-wing populist views. In doing this, we are already applying a very strict standard.

SPIEGEL: What has changed in the last 10 years for a foreigner living in Germany?

Heitmeyer: He lives in a society that has skeptical to hostile opinions about Muslims, in particular. More than 50 percent of people surveyed today say that they would have a big problem moving into an area where many Muslims live. This is an increase of 6 percent in the last seven years.

SPIEGEL: The debate over Thilo Sarrazin and his controversial book, "Deutschland schafft sich ab" ("Germany Does Itself In"), has shown that many members of the educated classes also hate foreigners. Doesn't education protect against xenophobia?

Heitmeyer: Education is generally a safe buffer. But we have noticed that this buffer is disappearing. Many of those attending Mr. Sarrazin's readings were middle-class people in loden coats. We use the term "crude middle-class outlook" in this context. It is the contempt for those who are seeking to improve their social status.

SPIEGEL: What triggers a misanthropic mood in the country?

Heitmeyer: There are signal events, like Sept. 11, 2001, the introduction of the Hartz IV (reforms to welfare payments for the longterm unemployed) and the economic crisis. Such events unnerve people. One reaction is to denigrate the weaker members of society. But the gradual processes are also dangerous, because they are not the subject of debates, like disorientation, the economic attitudes I mentioned earlier and, most of all, the deflation of democracy.

SPIEGEL: Don't we live in a vital democracy anymore?

Heitmeyer: Our democracy is a functioning shell, as evidenced by low voter turnout. Our numbers show that many people have already given up. They no longer have any expectations of politics.

SPIEGEL: Our impression is that democracy is actually quite vital. In Stuttgart and elsewhere, citizens are demanding more of a say. In Frankfurt, people are sleeping in tents to protest capitalism. This isn't exactly a deflation of democracy.

Heitmeyer: Vitality and protests are indeed in evidence wherever there are emotionally exploitable events. But these are exceptions. Normally the people who really have a reason to protest lack the strength to do so. The fears of social decline and unemployment are destructive and crippling to people.

SPIEGEL: But economic output is growing and unemployment is decreasing. Germans seem to be doing rather well, despite the financial and debt crisis.

Heitmeyer: We are doing well, compared to the Greeks, the Spaniards and the Italians. That's comforting. But many things are also suppressed. In our surveys, people point out that even though society is not doing well, things are just fine in their personal lives. People tend to build a positive image of themselves to avoid being overrun by social uncertainty.

SPIEGEL: Isn't it possible that people really are doing well?

Heitmeyer: Our numbers show that people are very fearful of social decline and ostracism.

SPIEGEL: If your numbers actually reflect the truth, how could the divide in society be closed again?

Heitmeyer: We have to improve social equality and the equality of all people. Equality is just as important to human society as emotional and physical integrity.

SPIEGEL: What constitutes the value of a human being?

Heitmeyer: That's the €100,000-euro question. In a humane society, it is important that those sitting at the top of the ladder are treated the same as those at the bottom. Can someone at the bottom live a life of dignity? In Germany, human dignity is a supposedly untouchable value, but unfortunately that's not at all true anymore.

SPIEGEL: How do elites treat the weak?

Heitmeyer: Significant segments the elites and higher earners are increasingly withdrawing from a mutually supportive society. They claim the privileges of the establishment, and they fight against a minimum wage, the wealth tax and the inheritance tax, even though the policies of redistribution have been in their favor for years. This is class warfare from above. It shows that the core standards of this society are in great jeopardy. Some 64 percent of society believes that striving for justice is pointless. Solidarity and fairness, values that are vital to the cohesion of a society, are being eroded.

SPIEGEL: And this can be blamed on the "authoritarian capitalism" you write about?

Heitmeyer: Capital has been able to impose its maxims without obstruction for years. Social integration is not on the list of interests. Instead, the entrepreneurial self is in demand. This maxim has now penetrated into the way people think.

SPIEGEL: But even the publisher of the center-right daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Frank Schirrmacher, writes that the left could very well be right this time.

Heitmeyer: The ship can't be turned around that quickly. Neo-liberal concepts have found their way into everyday life and are being used as weapons against disadvantaged groups. This pattern of thinking will not be thrown into disarray suddenly just because elites are realizing that things are threatening to blow up in their faces.

SPIEGEL: The results of your research paint such a dark picture of our country that one could very well believe that Germany is on the verge of revolution.

Heitmeyer: We don't want to be too pessimistic. We use scientific tools to combat whitewashing and indifference. I do not recognize a potential for unrest in Germany at the moment. Instead, I suspect that apathy and disorientation are on the rise. This is not a good sign for our country. On the whole, we lack any kind of vision on how things are to continue.

Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan Source

D15 Occupy Everywhere! - In Tents - Because We Can - LSX

Occupy LSX - Tent Monsters occupy. Join Occupy London on D15 to Occupy Everywhere.

Because We Can!
we are everywhere -- and we need YOU! occupy spaces in your own communities, and come play with us if you can on December 15th . . . playing in the streets is serious business.
make yourselves visible, start your own actions! occupy your street corners, libraries, schools, and offices. host general assemblies in backyards or community centers. this is how we grow and go forward. occupy everywhere.

The Siege of Wukan

By C. Custer

UPDATE 4: Malcolm Moore has posted a new story on this, which I highly recommend you read in its entirety right here. Also added another image from Weibo.
UPDATE 3: Additional images from Weibo added, section on Weibo censorship added at the end of the post.
UPDATE 2: One of the accounts posting images from inside Wukan — a young man who lives there — has been closed by Sina. Clearly, they’re taking this pretty seriously. I know of two other Weibo accounts from users inside Wukan, but I wonder how quickly their accounts will be closed, too. Also, Malcolm Moore tweeted that the villagers estimate they have food enough left for ten days.
UPDATE 1: Malcolm Moore has posted some more details on his time in the village — and how he got in there — here (you may need a Google Plus account to see that. I have also added an additional large image to the selection of photos from Weibo.
The Telegraph’s Malcolm Moore published an explosive story today about Wukan, the village in southern China that is now in open rebellion against the local government. This story has been developing for several months, but Moore’s piece from inside the blocked-off town (no idea how he’s managed that) is one of the best and most comprehensive pieces I’ve seen yet. I highly recommend that you click this link right now and read the entire story. I’ll wait here.
Ok, finished? Great. Beyond that, Moore has been live updating this morning via his Twitter account, posting additional photos and information. As of this writing, the most interesting of those is this tidbit, from around 11 AM this morning:

The rumour in Wukan is CCTV may be coming on Dec 16, so the police may try and reassert control before then

I don’t think I need to explain the ways in which this event is amazing, and I mean that in the literal sense of the word. Anyone with a funtional brain and half an eye on the Chinese media is aware that local government land grabs are a huge source of discontent, but if you’d told me a few months ago that a Chinese town would band together, run the local officials out of town, resist a force of 1,000 police officers intent on entering the town again (but, thankfully, not willing to use lethal force to do so, at least not yet), establish their own makeshift government, and keep the whole thing running even this long, I would have told you you were nuts. Source/full story

'US after eternal control of Iraq oil'

Having spent trillions in Iraq, Americans simply cannot give up the plentiful and very high quality oil they invaded the country for, says former Indian ambassador to Iraq.

Despite the US declaring withdrawal of its military forces out of Iraq, Washington has prepared to control the country's rich oil reserves in any case, Rt.com Tuesday reported former India's ambassador to Iraq in the 1990s, Ranjit Singh Kalha as having said.

It only takes USD 1.50 to take out Iraq's oil that is just below the surface, the Indian ambassador explained.

Therefore, “anybody who has access to this oil can be a game changer - as far as the politics of oil is concerned.”

The setback Americans encountered in Iraq is that once given “some symbols” of democracy, the Iraqi voted for a Shia-led government, said Ranjit Singh Kalha.

He argued that Today's Shia-led Iraq unlike Saddam's Iraq, in which the military and law enforcement was mostly Sunni, does not have the necessary experience of ruling to prevent sectarian violence so the country risks a full fledged civil war to start at any time after a complete US withdrawal .

The former ambassador said that to counteract such undesirable chaos in Iraq the US will have a 20,000 personnel embassy in Baghdad (the largest US embassy in the world) and also 1,000- personnel consulates in each of the Iraqi cities of Basra, Kirkuk and in northern Kurd-inhabited territory.

“Americans cannot afford to be completely absent from Iraq,” he said emphasizing that he does not see any lessening of American influence in Iraq.

Meanwhile, the American troops will not go far away from Iraq but will be re-deployed to next-door Kuwait, Ranjit Singh Kalha said. Source

Max Keiser: JPMorgan Ordered Corzine to Pillage Personal Accounts at MF Global! - complete interview

Alex talks with former trader Max Keiser about MF Global and how the dubious congressional testimony of John Corzine about the missing $1.2 billion of client funds may ultimately land him in jail. Source

Chris Martenson on the Money System and Exponential Resource Depletion - Capital Account